Abstract
Sunspot structure is measured by taking the ratio of the area of the umbra to that of the penumbra. The time dependence of this umbral/penumbral ratio is remarkably similar to the record of the Northern Hemisphere surface temperature anomalies. On a year-to-year basis the correlation is 0.57, which is significant at better than the 0.01% level. It is postulated that a change in the umbral/penumbral ratio is proportional to a change in the solar luminosity and that long-term variations in the luminosity lead to corresponding changes in the climate of the Earth.
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Hoyt, D.V. Variations in sunspot structure and climate. Climatic Change 2, 79–92 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138229
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138229